The 2011 Southern California Community College Showcase took place July 30 & 31 at Azusa Pacific University.
I attended 19 games over the two days, featuring 32 teams.
Here is a game-by-game summary for the 10 games I attended on Sunday, July 31.
Citrus 54, Imperial Valley 48:
SF Brandon Parga had 16 pts and Citrus continued its summer unbeaten streak by rallying from a 6-point halftime deficit to edge Imperial Valley, 54-48.
Both teams entered 2-0, with Imperial Valley having posted impressive victories over Saddleback and Sequoias on Saturday. And the Arabs held a 28-22 lead over the Owls at halftime in this one.
Citrus took a 33-32 lead on a 3-point play by PG Brandon Woods with just over 10 minutes left, and pushed its lead to eight points at 44-36 on a driving lay-up by SF Kerry Carter with just over six minutes left.
Imperial Valley rallied to within two points at 50-48 on a driving lay-up by PF Ryan Ena. But Parga made a 2-pt free throw with 16.3 seconds left to make it 52-48. IVC missed a pair of 3-point tries and Ctr Kendrick Thomas got the rebound for Citrus, was fouled and made a 2-pt FT to make it 54-48 and clinch the win.
Parga was the only Owl to score in double figures, but ten different Owls scored at least one field goal. PF Dominique Carr had 8 pts, and Thomas had 6 pts and a game-high 8 rebs.
IVC was led by 6-10 Ctr Josue Mulamba, who had 17 pts on 7-for-7 from the floor as well as 7 rebs and 6 blocked shots. SF Darius Singletary had 12 pts and 7 rebs, and SG Brandon Newman had 7 pts and 5 asts.
Kings Academy (Moorpark) 47, Alameda 37:
SF Jamal McClerkin had 14 pts and PF Coltrane Powdrill had 13 as Kings Academy, a team of players from Moorpark College, posted a 10-point win over the College of Alameda.
The Kings Academy started the game with an 8-0 spurt and led wire-to-wire. The Kings led by 11 at 19-8 after a driving lay-up by SG Edwin Luco and held a 23-12 lead at halftime. Alameda got within six points at 35-29 in the second half after a 3-pt free throw by SG Eli Alcantar but never got any closer.
Alcantar came off the bench to lead Alameda with 11 pts and 3 asts. SF Harold Perry had 6 pts, and PF Antonio Austin had 4 pts and a team-high 5 rebs.
Porterville 59, Victor Valley 57:
PG Donald Lee had 19 pts including 5 threes and SF Jason Carmichael had 14 pts, 7 rebs and 3 steals to lead Porterville to a narrow win over Victor Valley.
Victor Valley led, 32-30, at the half, but Lee's 5th 3-pointer of the game gave Porterville a one-point lead in the opening seconds of the second half. VVC got a traditional 3-point play from PG Josiah Jackson to go back in front, and opened a 43-36 lead.
Then came a 17-2 Porterville run. A 3-point play by PF Miguel Perez gave the Pirates a 47-45 lead. A 2-point FT by Carmichael, a steal & lay-up by Lee and a jumper by Carmichael finished the run and made it 53-45.
But Victor Valley answered with an 8-0 run, tying the score at 53 on a 3-point play by PF Justin Gaines after a steal with 2:20 left.
Porterville went back in front on a basket by PF Kameron Hoyt and a 2-pt free throw by Carmichael after a steal by Hoyt that made it 57-53. But VVC got within two points at 59-57 and had a chance to win in the final seconds. However, SF Joshua Clark's would-be game-winning 3-pointer rimmed out as the final buzzer sounded.
Gaines led Victor Valley with 15 pts and 3 steals. Ctr Aaron Dutcher had 8 pts and a team-high 5 rebs.
Antelope Valley 64, Sequoias 46:
SG Jason Johnson had 19 pts and Ctr Larry Slaughter had 14 pts as Antelope Valley routed College of the Sequoias.
AVC started Slaughter and four guards, a daring strategy when matched up against Sequoias' imposing front line of 6-7 PF Phil Ward and 6-8 Ctr Abel Watts.
But Coach John Taylor's strategy paid off as AVC jumped out to a 17-2 lead and was never really threatened. COS started the game by missing 10 of its first 11 shots from the floor and never got the deficit back into single digits.
AVC held a 37-21 lead at halftime, and pushed the margin to twenty at 50-30. COS closed the gap to eleven points at 52-41 late in the second half but that was as close as the Giants would get.
Johnson led all scorers with his 19 pts, and Slaughter finished with an impressive overall line of 14 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Ctr Vadal Faniel had 10 pts and 6 rebs. SF Chris Bridges had 9 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts and 3 steals. PG DaShawn Gomez had just 2 pts but dished out a game-high 8 asts.
SF Chris Dixon came off the bench to lead COS with 12 pts, including a pair of 3-pointers, on 5-for-7 from the floor. Watts had 11 pts, 7 rebs and 3 asts.
LA Southwest 47, Palomar 46:
SF Stephon Dafney drained a game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired, lifting the Cougars to a win in the most dramatic finish of the weekend.
Palomar had taken a 46-44 lead when SG Derick Jones scored on a floater with 7.5 seconds left that seemed like the deciding shot. But that left enough time for Dafney to take the inbounds pass, dribble up the floor and drain the straight-on 3-pointer to steal the victory for LA Southwest.
That final sequence was only fitting since the game was evenly-played throughout. Palomar held a 26-19 halftime lead, but Southwest rallied to tie the score at 32 with 9:42 left. Palomar went on an 8-0 run to lead, 40-32, but Southwest answered with an 8-0 run of its own to tie the score at 40. Southwest tied it one last time on a putback basket by Ctr Shannen Garner with 40 seconds left, setting the stage for the fantastic finish.
Garner led Southwest with 16 pts and added 11 rebs, 5 blocks and 4 steals in a very strong overall performance. SG Thurman Thomas came off the bench for 12 pts. Dafney had 9 pts, all on 3-pointers, and 3 asts.
For Palomar, PG Chris Gorman led all scorers with 17 pts. He was the only Comet to score in double figures. SG Mitchell Zapien had 8 pts off the bench. SG Stephen Caldwell had 4 pts plus team-highs of 8 rebs and 3 asts.
Cosumnes River 63, El Camino 54:
Ctr Tony Gill had 21 pts and 8 rebs as Cosumnes River wrapped up a perfect 4-0 record for the weekend with a nine-point win over El Camino.
With wins against Mt. San Jacinto, LA Harbor and The Bucs (Ventura) in the bank, CRC looked like it was on the way to an easy win over El Camino when it jumped out to a 12-3 early lead.
But El Camino rallied, cutting the margin to just two points at halftime to trail, 31-29. And the Warriors started the second half with a 9-2 spurt to take a 38-33 lead.
CRC rallied to tie the score at 38, and the lead went back and forth for a while until Gill scored on a 3-point play after a rebound to give the Hawks a 54-51 lead with 1:22 left. Then Gill hit a 3-point field goal to make it 57-51. A thunderous jam - the first of three in the final 22 seconds - by SF James Tillman made it 59-51 and clinched the win for all intents and purposes.
Gill went 7-for-12 from the floor with 4 threes for his game-high 21 pts, and added 8 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blocks and a steal. PF J.J. Mina had 12 pts and Tillman added 10 pts and 4 asts.
For El Camino, PF Chuck Gray had 13 pts and 4 rebs. PG Josh Wilson had 10 pts, 5 rebs and 5 asts.
LA Harbor 47, Mira Costa 40:
SF Brandon Hrboka had 12 pts on 6-for-7 and Harbor shot 51% from the floor to come away with a seven-point win over Mira Costa.
It was far from a thing of beauty, as Harbor was without its usual starting backcourt and Mira Costa missed 26 of its first 28 shots from the floor. But the Seahawks shot 56% from the floor in the second half to overcome a 2-point deficit.
That Mira Costa held a lead at halftime was rather amazing, considering the Spartans shot just 10% (2-for-20) from the floor in the first half. Making six of eight 2-point free throws helped, but then Mira Costa started the second half by missing its first 8 shots.
That allowed Harbor to build a 30-23 lead. Mira Costa, however, rallied to tie the score at 30 on a 3-pointer by PG Evan Watkins and take a 32-30 lead on a basket by SG Baptiste Boucharel after a feed from Watkins.
But then Harbor went on a 15-4 run to take control of the game. A 3-point play by PF Tevin Rollins with 57.8 seconds left made it 45-36 and clinched the win for Harbor.
Hrboka led the Seahawks with his 12 pts. Rollins had 10 pts, and PG Matt Morris, substituting for regular PG Marquel Jones (on a church retreat) had 10 pts, 4 rebs and 3 steals. PF Dennis Hardwell had just 4 pts but had 10 rebs, 3 asts, 2 blocks and a steal.
Boucharel led all scorers with 14 pts for Mira Costa. Watkins had 12 pts including a pair of 3-pointers.
Saddleback 63, LA Trade Tech 58:
Ctr Devin Golston had 16 pts and 8 rebs as Saddleback built an 18-point second-half lead but had to stave off a late comeback bid by LA Trade Tech to come away with a 5-point victory.
Saddleback led, 27-23, at the end of an evenly-played first half, but went on an 18-4 run to start the second half to build what seemed like an insurmountable 18-point lead at 45-27.
It turned out to be insurmountable, but just barely. Trade Tech rallied to get within a point at 57-56 on a lay-up by PF Olajuwon Anderson. And with 2:15 left on the clock, Trade Tech still had plenty of time to finish its comeback bid.
But Saddleback stopped the Trade Tech momentum, and pushed the lead back to five points at 61-56 after two-point free throws by PG Justin Cole with 1:17 left and by Golston with 51.7 seconds left. Trade Tech got back within three points after a lay-up by PG Chris Brown that made it 61-58, but a 2-pt free throw by SF Randall Guillory with 6.3 seconds left finally clinched the win for the Gauchos.
Golston finished with a game-high 16 pts plus 8 rebs and 3 blocked shots. Cole came off the bench for 12 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals. Guillory and PF Josh Smith each had 9 pts; Smith also grabbed 8 rebs and had 2 blocked shots.
SF Ravon Nunley led Trade Tech with 12 pts, and he also had 3 rebs, 2 asts and 4 steals. PF Josh Chatman had 11 pts and 6 rebs. Brown came off the bench for 10 pts and SF DeSean Anderson had 9 pts, 6 rebs and 3 steals.
Compton 69, Mt. San Jacinto 64:
In the much-anticipated Grand Finale, Compton outlasted Mt. San Jacinto in the final game of the 2011 Southern California Community College Showcase for a 69-64 win.
Compton built a nine-point first-half lead at 31-22, but Mt. San Jacinto cut the deficit to two points at halftime and took a 36-35 lead in the first minute of the second half after a pair of lay-ups by SG Taylor Bell.
The lead went back and forth after that until a 3-point play by Compton SF Keith Gibbs gave the Tartars a 57-52 lead with 5:04 left. A 3-pointer by PG Isaiah Todd made it 60-54. PF Andre Blanding scored on a 3-point play with 2:54 left to make it 65-56, and that essentially clinched the win for Compton.
Eleven different players scored for Compton, which shot 50% from the floor as a team and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Todd came off the bench for a team-high 11 pts and added 3 asts. PF Chris Miller had 8 pts and 4 asts, and SG Steve Pickens had 8 pts, 3 asts and 3 steals. Ctr Dashawn Revels had 4 pts and a team-high 4 rebs.
For Mt. San Jacinto, PF Anthony Dees led all scorers with 19 pts on 8-for-10 from the floor, including 3 three-pointers, and added 4 asts and 3 steals. SG Montreal Harris had 12 pts and 4 asts. PG D'Anthony Peterson had 9 pts and 4 asts. PF Josh Gouch had 4 pts and a game-high 7 rebs. Mt. San Jacinto shot 51% from the floor but made just 4 of 10 shots from the free throw line, which was particularly costly as each free throw was worth two points in this shootout.
